Above the Storm: Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

After the games on Saturday, I tried to look around the expo. There were still a lot of people, and it was difficult to actually see stuff. Most of the stands were catered to computers and computer games, with only a few devoted to more comic-con type stuff. I was surprised to realise that I no longer cared much about computer games. I went through a lot of trades (collections of comic series), but everything was either stuff I wasn't interested in, or stuff that cost more than I wanted to spend on it.

As I mulled over the day's events whilst futilely search for something I needed to buy, it became rather apparent to me that Phantom X-style teams were the thing to beat, rather than Highfather, and I really should have played Drax rather than Angela, as he would have fared a lot better against that style of play. I could not change my team however, and this, added to the disappointment of the stalls at rAge, made me rather despondent. I thought that perhaps I had done the wrong thing in coming. I should have given the plane ticket to someone else.

I didn't sleep very well that evening, and had odd nightmares about Earth being invaded by the Kree, for some reason. But Sunday came along (surprisingly free of invading Kree) and I dutifully went back to rAge, because, regardless of how I felt, letting down the other Durban players was not an option. I can be stubborn when I want to be.

Sunday started off a lot better. There were far less people. A lot more of them were in cosplay. We had gone in on Sat knowing nothing about what kind of teams we would be facing, but this time we had far more of an idea. Oddly enough, the most nerve-racking part of the whole weekend was waiting to for the first round pairings. I'm certain we were all hoping not to be paired against another Durbanite. And none of us were. Except for me. I had to play Chris. Again. Of course.

Actually, our game was rather civil. I'm pretty sure this was due to us having had all the rules arguments the day before. It was a close game, very close, but I lost. And it was a knock out tournament.

The End

Adi Granov's Captain Marvel

Ok, it's not really the end. I guess you want to know what happened with the rest of us? Brandon and Peter got into the semi-finals, Krishin having lost out to that terrible villain known only as a 'roll-off'. Surprisingly, I found myself unable to watch Peter's game. At some point I must have forgiven him for completely destroying me with his Blood Elves in the Warcraft card game that one time in that tournament I really, really wanted to win....wait where was I? I lost my train of though. Oh right - I actually wanted Peter to win his match. This has never happened before.

In between, I looked at the more comicbooky stalls again, and finally found something to buy - the 200pt Captain Marvel that I had really been wanting. And that was when it suddenly occurred to me. Yeah, I should have played Drax. But I played Angela instead, and I do not regret it, because she's bloody Angela. Created by Neil Gaiman. The older sister of Thor. The Assassin of Asgard. Playing female superheroes is my thing. If I hadn't played her, I wouldn't be me.

Brandon lost to a roll off. Peter won, and then lost in the finals to...a roll off. In fact, all three roll offs I have mentioned so far were the same guy beating us. Earth is a crazy place. You can't even make this stuff up!

I don't know when it was when everything had started going right. Was it when I shook Chris' hand at the end of a match that did not involve rules arguments? When I found the Captain Marvel? When I got given a free blu-ray of the Thor movie? That night at the airport, I checked in, and the lady asked me 'Would you like a window seat?' Why yes, yes I would.

We took off, and I watched the light of the city spread out below me, clusters of them all over as far as the eye could see. And then they vanished. There were clouds below us, but I couldn't see them in the dark. Until the lightning lit them up. The seatbelt lights came on, and the rest of the plane trip was rather bumpy. I don't think the rest of the passengers enjoyed it at all. But I loved it, because I was watching a storm from above. When do you ever get to do something like that? I will never forget it.

And you know, I don't think the storm was a coincidence. Someone was telling me that I was right to have gone to Joburg. To have played Angela.

Did I mention that she is Thor's sister?